ויקרא, פרק ג׳, פסוק ו׳

The peace offering represents a profound covenant of closeness with God. This concept is so central to the tradition that the Passover sacrifice itself is fundamentally considered a type of peace offering [רש ר הירש]. After outlining the laws for peace offerings brought from cattle, the focus shifts to offerings brought from the flock. A separate section is dedicated to the flock because these animals carry distinct requirements, most notably the obligation to burn the fat tail on the altar [מלבי״ם, פירושי רד צ הופמן].

Before dividing the flock into specific categories of sheep and goats, a general introduction is provided. This structure teaches that the strict requirement to bring an unblemished animal applies equally to all types within the flock, avoiding the need to repeat this rule for each specific animal [ביאור יש״ר]. The offering must be entirely whole and free of any physical defect, a standard requirement that establishes the fixed procedure for all peace offerings [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Furthermore, the offering is limited to a clear male or female, specifically excluding animals whose biological sex is undefined or ambiguous [מלבי״ם, אדרת אליהו].

Although the entire section is devoted to peace offerings, there is an apparent redundancy in how the sacrifice is categorized. The primary approach among commentators is that this repetition introduces a new law regarding the leftover of a Passover sacrifice. If a designated Passover animal is lost and found only after a replacement has already been offered, or if an animal is set aside as a substitute, it is not disqualified. Instead, it is brought as a standard peace offering [תורה תמימה, רש ר הירש, אדרת אליהו, פירושי רד צ הופמן].

The explicit emphasis that this sacrifice is dedicated to God carries special weight regarding these leftover Passover animals. During the Israelites' wanderings in the wilderness, they were permitted to bring peace offerings simply to allow the consumption of regular meat. However, an animal originally designated for Passover maintained its unique holiness. Even when brought as a peace offering, it had to be consumed with the strict reverence of a high sacrifice, exactly like the original Passover offering [העמק דבר].